The Cape Coast Archdiocesan Laity Council recently held a Seminar at the St Peter’s Regional Seminary, Pedu on the theme: Fostering the growth of the Catholic Church in Ghana through collaborative ministry.
The purpose of the seminar was to introduce Parish and Societal leaders of the Archdiocese to the contents of the 2024 Laity Week programme.
The seminar was preceded by a Mass presided over by the Archdiocesan Laity Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Thomas Egyir and concelebrated by his Assistant, Fr. Peter Amoah.
In a homily, Fr. Amoah broached the concept of collaboration and emphasised, that was the way to ensure a solid future for the Church.
The Vicar General, Very Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Annan, representing the Archbishop, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle noted that collaboration is something initiated by the Blessed Trinity. He said that even though each of the divine persons of the Trinity has their own role in the creation and redemption of humankind, they collaborated in their respective functions.
He also made references to the Apostle Paul’s image of the Church as the mystical body of Christ, which has several parts with each part having its role to play in the overall functioning of the body and yet, it is required that the parts collaborate in their respective functions.
Fr. Annan said it is in this light that the Episcopacy, the Clergy, the Religious, and the Laity, each having its respective roles in the Church and yet for best results need to collaborate.
The Archdiocesan Lay Director, Dr. Joseph Arko introduced and elaborated on the contents of this year’s Laity Week Booklet to participants. He gave a brief background to the selection of the theme for the year, which he said was used as the point for deliberation at the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s (GCBC), annual Plenary Assembly in November last year.
He said the Bishops chose the theme because of the alarming dwindling of the number of Catholics as indicated by recent censuses undertaken in the country.
The President of GCBC, Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, in the opening address at the 2023 Plenary, spoke about some issues which he determined as causes for the declining numbers and then proffered proposals for addressing those issues.
Dr. Arko said that even though there were several issues raised by the Bishops, the Laity Council will focus on five of them for their study and subsequent action these include: The observed gap between the clergy and the laity exacerbated by priestly clericalism and lay passivism, which makes it difficult for collaborative ministry; the lack of a robust and lifelong catechesis for the laity, which leaves many of them regrettably ignorant of the Church’s teachings and way of life.
Others are the absence of any sustained and properly directed and resourced program of evangelization sponsored and managed by the dioceses and the parishes in which the laity could participate; the weak children and youth ministry that characterize our church practice these days, and the slowness of the church in expanding to new population concentrations, which results in Catholics either having to trek long distances to attend masses or joining other Christian congregations nearby.
From Cape Coast DEPSOCOM
